How to import music from iTunes or Windows Media to your Amazon library ... Shortcuts to find Prime Music for Echo and Prime Instant Video for FireTV and Stick+tablets ... Today's Kindle Daily Deal: 45 'Summer Reads' instead of one .

I've been collecting my PRIME-info shortcuts for friends new to FireTv and to Amazon Echo, which I still haven't done a fuller report on -- still hunting things down when here.

  These shortcuts include what's available on Instant Prime and --for the Echo --  what is included in Prime Music (and helpful for getting Echo to play what you intend).
  Details will follow on another post I'm working on today.

  Re Kindle books -- I noticed today the changes to Kindle Owners Lending Library and where that appears on Kindle Fire tablets now, as that was changed recently.  The e-Ink Kindle eReaders are clearer in that this borrowing feature appears in the main store menu, up front oon the older Kindles, the Paperwhite and Voyage readers.  So will show that later today and/or tomorrow with some screen shots.

  In the meantime, included with this post are shortcuts for Prime Instant Video info and the less easy to find Prime Music pages that are very useful for the Echo.

  With the Echo, you've a lot more to work with if you join (for free) iHeart Radio and Pandora, which now both work well with Echo.  Echo users use these sites by identifying them and your free accounts in the Echo app's Settings/Music after joining those two music sites. Both are free for the basic service.

  Until then I say, 'Alexa, play [artist] from Prime Music' if wanting to hear something I don't already have.
  If you're a Prime shipping member, the Prime music songs are free, and there are well over a million involved.
  From your own playlists, you can just say, 'Alexa, play playlist [playlist-name]'

Will have somewhat more interesting things in the follow-up Echo report - these are just what some are asking about on the first day of use.

At any rate, here are some Prime feature shortcuts for finding what you want in connection with accessing them on  Fire TV, tablets, or the Amazon Echo.

Prine Instant-eligible Video: Movies and TV
1. http://amzn.to/primeinstantvideo3 (by category)
2. http://amzn.to/primeinstantvideo
    (Listing of ~18,000 Prime Instant-eligible videos
      You can narrow these down by using the search box at the top of the page. )
3. http://bit.ly/instantvideowebplayersetting
    (Settings to use for instant video web player -- for tablets use, 'flash' instead if 'silverlight'

Prime Music for streaming from your library at no added cost/
1. http://bit.ly/primemusicpage (by category
    (Free Prime music by categories. You can just add these to your library
    On tablets and on Fire TV many songs have scrolling lyrics w/ current line highlighted
2. http://bit.ly/primemusic-amazon (help page)
3. http://bit.ly/primemusic-who
    (Who and what's included in Prime music (artists and albums, as of 6/12/14)


Importing Music from iTunes or Windows Media Player to your Amazon Library
  (source: Amazon help pages)

  To import your music:
Go to your Music Library from a web browser on the computer you want to import music from.
Click Upload your music in the left menu,
  If prompted to install the Amazon Music Importer, follow the on-screen instructions.
Once you've opened or installed the Amazon Music Importer,
  click Start Scan to automatically scan your iTunes and Windows Media Player libraries for songs to import.
  You can also click-Browse manually to choose files on your computer to find music.
    This process may take some time to complete.
After the Amazon Music Importer has located your music,
  click Import all to add the entire selection to your music library.
    OR, click Select Music to choose which songs you'd like to add."

  However, what is free and what isn't when importing music?
  Amazon limits free uploads to 250 songs.
  Anything bought from Amazon does not count against the 250 songs limit.
    The alternative they have is to pay $25/yr to be able to import up to 250,000 songs...



Saturday's Kindle Daily Deal - today only (May 23, 2015 only)

Sending this mid-day for people who didn't check the Kindle Daily deal today, which is good for only one day (or remaining night for east coasters, at the time I write this).

This consists of not the usual one book but 45 books, some of which are priced considerably higher usually.  For instance, I never got Amy Tan's latest book, but at $1.99 I will probably click on that today.

---

  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:

Temporarily-free books - Non-classics USA: by:    Publication Date      Bestselling   High-ratings UK: PubDate   Popular The Kindle Daily Deal What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3

Most Popular Free K-Books U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):    Top 100 free UK-Only:    Top 100 free USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard(U.S. only, currently):   99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,   99c Calendar,   99c Converter

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button


Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

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Getting Google directions with the Kindle on a trip - Update4

N O T E :   JULY 10, 2010 -- GOOGLE CHANGED SOMETHING AND THE PREVIOUS DIRECTIONS (BELOW) DON'T WORK ANYMORE -- See the NEWER VERSION dated July 11, 2010 -- this one is just part of the archives now and maybe in the future might work again.

UPDATE 7/25/09:  Shortcut for both Kindle 2 and DX, to go to a website, has been added at the bottom.

Web-browser tip.  Some Kindle owners take advantage of the free, included, 24/7 Sprint cellular wireless when in the car, without a GPS unit or suitable map, and wanting to find out how to get somewhere.

  This works for Kindle 2's and Kindle DX's, although any map that appears, while quite readable in the DX, is not particularly readable on the Kindle 2.  However, the text navigation directions are very readable on both, and you can enlarge the font for those.

  When you've been busy using the Kindle for a number of things, sometimes the first attempt at web-browsing will cause the Kindle to reboot to clear memory for a clean start.  After that, it should be fine.

1.   Press the Menu button to get the "Experimental" option.

2. Click on "Experimental" to choose/accept the "Basic Web."

You'll need to use the SYM key at bottom right of keyboard to get any unusual characters such as '@" sign as well as the question-mark symbol.  While slow and an irritation, it's still useful in a car if you don't have phone access to the web.

3. At the Web browser page (though it may take you to bookmarks page instead),
press Menu to choose "Go to Top"

That gets you to the top line to type a link or URL

4. TYPE:
maps.google.com/?output=html

5. Five-way to the right until you get "GoTo" and then press down on that.

That should fetch the Google map/directions page for you.
(SHORTCUT for Steps 1-5 is at the bottom of the page.)
6. Press the Menu button to BOOKMARK this page so you don't have to type this again.

Also, the screen should show "Advanced" or "Desktop" at top center as your browsing mode.  "Basic mode" won't work with this.  This is normally done automatically, but if not, then press Menu/Settings to choose "Advanced."

7. Then you can use your 5-way button/cursor to get, slowly, to the input boxes to enter city, state (or zip) for a Map of the area.

  If you want "Directions" - then add an address before city

8. If you check "Directions," you'll see the START-address input box and most of a small map.

9. TYPE the From: address that you want.

10. 5-way down slowly :-)

11. Then the screen shifts and gives you the rest of the map and the END-address input box.

12. TYPE in the To: address there.

Again, the text directions from Google are very readable on either Kindle screen, and you can increase the font size of that text with the Aa font-key.

You'll need to play around with this to get used to it.  On the DX, zooming-in on a map will make the street names clearer of course.

Let me know if you have any problems with this.

---

ADDENDUM for KINDLE 2 and KINDLE DX USERS: (added 7/25/09 at 2:59 AM)
There is a shortcut (Kindle 2/DX) for getting to a URL from the Home Screen.

  The traditional way was shown above.

INSTEAD of 1 through 5 above:

AT HOME SCREEN
1. Press Enter key (below the DEL key)

  This brings up the tubular text-input 'box' at the bottom.

2. TYPE in:
  maps.google.com/?output=html

3. Five-way to the right until you get "GoTo" and then press down on that.

  You'll be placed right on the Google map/directions page.

Then go to Step 6 (or to Step 7 if you've already bookmarked it previously).

---

ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE SHORTCUT to the one above.

AT HOME SCREEN
1. Press Enter key (below the DEL key)

  This birngs up the tubular text-input 'box' at the bottom.

2. TYPE in:
  @url maps.google.com/?output=html

3. Press merely Enter-key (below DEL key) to choose default "Search my items"

  You'll be placed right on the Google map/directions page.

The last alternative forces you to use the SYM key use for the "@" sign, which is a slowdown.

  But it also lets you just press Enter key instead of 5-waying several times to the right.

---

UPDATED 7/25/09
ONE MORE ALTERNATIVE SHORTCUT

  You can type in the URL while reading a book or article
    IF your cursor is NOT on the screen.
      Then start typing in the website url (no http://) and then
      5-way to "my items" and press down.

  After finishing with website, press 'Back' key to return to book page.

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!